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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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They have a much bigger selection of CPO X3s there.... Which I think is a little unusual... Only a couple of '06s over at the BMW store.. My salesperson retired right after I got the last one, there... (Hmmm...maybe I paid too much? :surprise: )
Nice guy there at Jake's...
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2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
"Most cannot. Financing a depreciating asset is never a good idea. "
No it's not M, credit is seriously tight as the banks go to extremes. Agreed on the libor and the outlook. And while I should be pessimistic, I am not. Because of the four asset classes we have blown three only leaving equities to prosper. Real estate, pockets of value but with the level of bank reo pretty much off the list.
Bonds ? T-bills at 2% no where to go but up in rates. Commodities, I'd like to be bullish if they hadn't gotten greedy and pushed for 100% in a year, they could have stretched it for 4-5 years.
So, ex financials and transports where the earnings really do suck. The DJ is not so bad
Invoking law of least screwed. Ye shall see post election.
Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven
Correct title please, having a Sargent Shultz moment , I know nothing!
Just not true. The battery pack is designed to last the life of the car and indications are that in all but a very few cases they will.
I had bought my first BMW 21 years ago (325i). Same dealerships competing. That round went to the BMW store. Jake won the 2nd round on the 330i. The '87 325 purchase came down to color. Both dealerships were at the same price. BMW store had the color I wanted. Jake didn't. On the 330i, although that sales person was a little greyer, and a little heavier, he was the same one I negotiated with back in '87. He sold me the 330i (with a little help from the GM). He's been there, doing the same thing all this time.
Don't remember if I relayed how the sales experience of the 330i went down, but initially I had contacted Jake. Met the veteran sales person. He took me on a thorough test drive. Went over to the BMW Store (yes, that's what they call their dealership). Again, good test drive. Knowledgeable sales person. Only one that kind of interested me was a silver one with black interior. We came up with a number on it, but I couldn't help thinking, what a boring color combination.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. Still shopping. Went to Jake's on a Sunday when they were closed. Was wandering their lot. GM was there, even though they were closed.
He saw me. Said "hi", and unlocked the doors to go in. After about 5 minutes, he came out again. Still saw me wandering the lot and asked if he could help me. I told him I was already working with his veteran guy, but we couldn't come up with anything I liked color-wise. GM said they just got a truck load in that were just PDI'd but were on a different lot near the dealership.
GM...."wanna take a look at them?"
GG....."Nah....you're closed. It's your day off."
GM...."hey, I just dropped by to pick up some things in my office that I forgot yesterday. I'm here now. So are you. Won't take more than 10 minutes."
I agreed.
We jump in his very nice 6 Series Coupe and drive about 500 yards to a lot behind a nearby hotel that was closed for renovation. I thought it odd that they'd store cars in the lot of a closed hotel. But, the GM explained that the dealership was landlocked. Whenever big shipments came in, they sometimes had to store them elsewhere because they didn't have room on the dealership's lot. Hotel parking lot is mostly empty, except for the crew doing the remodeling. Dealership pays a monthly rental fee to use the hotel parking lot.
There's about 50 new BMWs on this lot.....all kinds. What immediately caught my eye was a black one with chocolate leather. It was equipped indentically to the silver one at the BMW store.
GM..."wanna drive it?"
GG...."again, it's your day off. I'll come back tomorow (Monday)".
GM...."I've got the time if you do. Let's go get the keys."
GG...."OK, if you don't mind".
GM comes back 10 minutes later with the key fob. We take it on a little spin around a few blocks. He tells me to hit the highway. Surprised he wants to take the time to do this, we hit the interstate. Test drive probably took about 20 minutes, but I already knew how they drove.
We get back to the lot.
GM...."you like it?"
GG...."yeah, I do".
GM...."you want it?"
GG...."well, I've got an offer on the table from your competition."
GM...."what's their offer?"
I lay it out for him.
GM...."That's a strong deal. If I make an aggressive deal on this car, will you buy from us?"
GG...."depends on how aggressive it is."
GM unlocks the doors to the dealership, we go into his office (the big corner one). He pulls up the numbers on the car. Starts tapping on his calculator. He writes some numbers on a "sticky note". He's $400 less than the best offer I got from his competition. Kind of weird. We're sitting in an unlit showroom, in dead silence (except for his clickety-clack on his calculator), with no one around except for him and me.
GM..."there it is. I'm all in".
GG...."you sure you're all in?"
GM...."I'm absolutely sure....there's no more room on this deal".
GG....(staring at the numbers...and they are indeed, very aggressive). "You've got a deal".
The GM stands up, shakes my hand. We go back to the hotel lot. He asks me to drive the new car over to the dealership. He opens the service bay doors. I pull in. He slaps a "sold" tag on the car with my name on it. Thanks me.
GG...."you want a CC or a deposit?"
GM...."nope. If you trust me, I'll trust you. Besides, you've got yourself a very nice car, at a helluva price".
He locks up. I jump in my car and drive away. He's right behind me.
What started out as me wandering the lot for a few minutes took about an hour and ended up with a demo ride and a handshake deal....all while the dealership was closed.
The next day, I go back to complete the transaction. Veteran sales person greets me with "I understand I sold you a car and didn't even know it".
All the paperwork was ready for my signature. Numbers were correct. On the F&I folder was the "sticky note" with the deal, signed by the GM.
GG...."yeah, your job is too easy".
Somewhere else I saw a motel lot with a dealership using part of it for car stock. The motel had lots of spaces and the dealership was adjacent to it behind.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Thanks for a great story.
First of all what is "Alize"?....
I have recieved many gifts also like you mentioned.
One time one of the other guys took in a trade. In the trade was 3 pill bottles with over 100 pills of percocet
Everyone... well really just about 5 guys comes in my office and we start to talk about what we are going to do with them... In the end we all agreed to call the custmoer right away and let him know.
Now the reason this was interesting was because none of the pill bottles had his name on it
On top of the ones some had already taken. I don't even think the guy knew how many he had to begin.
GP
OK what is "libor"? :confuse:
The only name I know for that song is....
"Teen Age Wasteland".... The Who
I will hate it if I am wrong.
GP
"Teen Age Wasteland".... The Who
Isn't the proper name for that song "Baba O'Riley"??
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
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I like the Impreza... wish I had the hatchback for more utility, but it's a cheap lease, and a stick, which were the top two requirements.. Dealer stepped up on the CR-V, so I did pretty well..
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You are correct THC
GP
LIBOR is some benchmark like the federal funds rate, prime rate, etc.
He was talking about some forward looking economic mumbo jumbo.
Alize is a blend of Congac and juices, such as passion fruit. The ladies love it.
Have an '06 G6 coming off lease in 8 months and have had the itch for something new for a while.
When the GM Employee Pricing came around last week, I figured I would go kick the tires on a couple of their models. Specifically the Saturn Vue and the Pontiac Torrent. Wifey and I are expecting our first child in December and figured this was a perfect excuse to get out of the lease early.
Long Story short, I had been emailing back and forth with one particular Pontiac salesman regarding the Torrent. He was very upfront and responsive. Only problem was, I liked the Saturn Vue at another dealership more. Test drove the Vue, loved it. Went inside to get the numbers on the vue and the salesman came back with a monthly payment that just didn't make sense. Brought me into the Finance guy's office and of course he has the "Deal" up on the screen. Gave me all the numbers to take home with the message. "Don't be Stupid, Do the Deal!" verbatim.
Go home and run the numbers they gave me through 5 different auto finance calculators including Edmund's very own and every one came out the same. $19 less per month than what the finance guy showed me. I was not happy.
Went back to the Pontiac dealership hoping to find some way of making a deal. The salesman tried everything he could on the Torrent but the payment was too high to get past the wife. We then looked at an '09 Vibe. Nothing fancy and honestly, I thought too small. Brought the wife in and she loved it. bought it on the spot.
I think I was more happy that I was able to work the deal with the salesman who had been up front, courteous, and responsive than I was about the choice of the Vibe. Got a good deal though, and what seems to be a really good car. BTW this salesman's numbers checked out to the penny on the same 5 calculators.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Yeah, but you're not saying whether your shoes would be on or off pinhead. :P
Cool story, wonder if the GM took a piece of the commission. He sure sounds a lot more professional than the Toyota GM I dealt with 4 years ago.
I agree. The Stewart store is a great place. That's where I'd go if I didn't have such a great dealer in Louisville. As for Jake? I think you know my opinion of that dealer... :mad:
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Just not true. The battery pack is designed to last the life of the car and indications are that in all but a very few cases they will.
Define the life of a car, please.
not the one who says that "I am on vacation. how dare you bother me" :mad:
No, sorry, I don't intend to get into any argument over this. I stand by my statement and you understand what the phrase "life of the car" means.
That is rude. :sick:
I have never in my life understood this "marketing jargon" called as the "lifetime of the product". I thought this was an opportunity to do so.
In that case, please do not write what you cannot support.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Most of you know I've taken up guitar playing in the last three to four months. I wanted a certain guitar and a salesperson at my local Guitar Weezel was very helpful, made recommendations of what to buy since was just beginning. I stopped by to see him a few time and the last time I went in was to tell him a buddy of mine had gifted me a really nice electric guitar so I wouldn't be needing anything expect an apm. I decided on a Line6 Spider III modeling amp and told my boys they lucked out since the amp was going to be half the price of what the guitar would have been. I told them where to but it and wrote down the salesperson name and to not buy from anyone else. Only I had to wait till Father's day to get it. The week before a flyer came in the mail with a 10 off coupon on certain items. Lucky for me the amp was one of those items.
The weekend came along and my youngest and I decide ot go pick up the amp.
I called to make sure John was working but he was on vacation for the rest of the week. Dang@! I had the money burning a hole in my pocket and wanted my amp right now! I told the guy on the phone who happened to be one of the managers that John had been very helpful and was probably getting tired of seeing me there every Saturday and some times on Sundays. I tell him I'm ready to buy my amp but I understand John is on vacation but he assures me that John will get credit for the sale.
So I get in my Camry and head down to get my amp. 30 minutes later I'm enjoying my amp and my guitar and having a great time. Next day I call John to find out if he got credit for the sale. "Do you like the amp? Are you having fun? Then that's all that matters." So in other words he got a split deal. I did feel bad so I got him a $30.00 gift card so he could take his wife/girlfriend out for lunch. He was happy and I was happy.
:shades:
This is probably incorrect, but when I was much, much younger, they used to say that the life of a car was 100,000 miles. Cars now last much longer so, like you, I would really like to know.
Richard
Richard
Richard
Richard I am surprised you have to ask. We give gifts all the time. We give gifts in the form of discounts $$$$ I give thousands of gifts every week.
GP
Group Hug....
GP
:shades:
I'm afraid I hurt jmonroe's feelings when I called him a rich cheapskate. He's probably sulking around looking for new furniture for his wife.
As for Joel I just assumed he was closing so many deals that he didn't have time for the likes of us.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
It gets really old after awhile. You need to be really thick skinned to survive here. I mean just take a look at who's really posted here for years. There are only two of which only one posts consistently. Doesn't take a genius to figure this out.
It's like I made myself a license to print money
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Do you have any evidence that most current generation hybrid batteries fail at the mileage you stated?
Of many professions in life, I have also been involved with mechanical designs.
That time, the warranty dictated the life of the product for the consumer. If we said that we warranty the product for x years,it means that based upon empirical data and various engineering data, we could predict the life of the product and therefore provide for a warranty under that or close to the life of the product.
However, when the term "warranted for life" is used, it is pretty much useless without quantifying the life period.
Look at it this way:
Salesman: This product is warranted for life of the product. No need to worry Sir.
Customer: How long is the life of the product?
Salesman: As long as it lasts.
Customer: So when it breaks down, it just managed to get itself out of warranty. Right?
Salesman: :mad: :sick:
I should have my musicology degree revoked. Yes, that's correct.
While this didn't happen to me, it did happen to one of my room mates in college....a long time ago.
He had a Chevy Monza (I think that's what it was called) that he parked off campus (no cars allowed on campus unless you were a commuter). He'd use it for "beer runs" on weekends.
Anyway, once we graduated, he took a job in OK and moved there, leaving the Chevy behind, at his parents house. According to him, they never even touched it for the 7 months from the time he moved until the time he came back for the subsequent holiday period. While he was home, he decided to see if he could sell the car in a week. He put an ad in the local paper. First person that looked at it, bought it. It was a Father who bought it for his newly licensed daughter.
The day he was supposed to leave to go back to OK, the father who just had bought the car shows up at my friend's parent's home presenting 5-1oz baggies of marijuana that he said he found under the driver's seat.
My friend said it wasn't his. The daughter said it wasn't hers.
Could have belonged to my friend, in all honesty. But, I find it difficult to believe he would miss such a stash, or where a 16 year old girl would find the money for it.
Exactly. Totally intentional.
It all depends on what the meaning of is, is ('tis the season, and all that). Gotta know how to parse, and you clearly do.
Most of the customers I had at Honda thought that after 8 years they have to replace the battery. Granted the warranty covers the battery for 8 years, but that doesn't mean the battery HAS to be replaced after that time. People don't automatically REPLACE their engines after the 5 year warranty is up do they?
And yes, Honda did tell us that the battery was designed to last the life of the car...whatever that may be....20-40 years if maintained optimally?
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
You also can easily find components that are expected to last lifetime and those that are not (e.g. joints, deck systems, paint, etc.).
In case of batteries the term is "expected", not "warranted" for life of the vehicle. It means, their failure prior electric motor, gas engine, transmission, body integrity, etc would be considered premature, but not necessarily a liability of the manufacturer, if it happens beyond "warranted" period - just like transmission going out on 61K miles on car with 60K powertrain warranty.
Warranty and expected lifespan can be two very, very, very different things. We expect Yankees to win most of the time, but nobody would guarantee it. On the other hand, some items do have "lifetime" warranty (Swiss army knife, Midas brake pads), which simply means there is expection of free replacement regardless how long they are in operation as long as the first owner is one to make the claim.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
O, say can you see?
By the dawn's early light...
Baba O'Reilly. Is there a better song on the planet??? (Hope no one said, "Teenage Wasteland" It may only be a teenage wasteland, but them's just the lyrics, not the title). Note that if I sound like the Comic Book Guy here, well, he probably makes a lot more money than me... As do all the car salesfolks here!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Not this month buddy.....
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Usually, the troublemakers come and go quickly but some stick around and take not so subltle jabs at us. Hard to ignore sometimes.
Just starting to join in these forums, as you may have already noticed. :shades:
Is ther a statute of limitations on these post? I am new to these forums and do not want to anger the post "Gods". :shades:
Yea, Jipster, jmonroe and you others. You make us wise a$$es look bad. :P
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
If I come to Boston and purchase a Nissan, will you give me "thousands" off the price? :P
Richard
No. It was probably me. I call him a tighta-- all of the time. Still, he knows how to lay me out when I do.
Richard
Richard